Functional Path Training

Stimulus Threshold

Stimulus threshold is the optimum training load required to elicit an adaptive response. There is a different stimulus threshold for each capacity, in the same manner there is a different time to adaptation for each capacity. There is an art and science to this. But the simple rule of thumb is that it is optimum not maximum that we are seeking.

Periodization – Some Thoughts Random and Otherwise

There is so much mumbo and confusion in this whole area I am not sure where to begin. Perhaps these thoughts will lend some clarity.

Lets start by defining Periodization, it is the planning and organization of training into a cyclic structure to develop all biomotor qualities in a systematic, sequential, and progressive manner for optimum development of performance capabilities.

Another way to look at it, it is the timing, sequence and interaction of the training stimulus to allow optimum adaptive response in pursuit of specific competitive goals. It is not about time, it is about timing. It definitely is not random, it is always undulatory in nature based on how the body adapts. You can write a linear program, but the body adapts in an undulatory manner. Despite all that is written about the difference between undulatory and linear periodization, in my opinion those are term of convenience, that confuse rather enlighten.

All components must be trained during all phases, only the proportion changes with the training age & stage of training.

There is synergy between all systems of the body and a synergistic relationship between all biomotor qualities. According to Olbrecht, different qualities have different curves of supercomensation (Olbrecht p.5). Because the various qualities have different times to adaptation and fitness decline much slower than fatigue it is possible to achieve continual adaptation.

I use this rule of thumb regarding adaptation time - Tasks that require complete recovery – Usually are high NEURAL demand. Tasks that can be trained with incomplete recovery - Usually are of high METABOLIC demand.

Wave Principle - Continuous alternation of increased and reduced training loads throughout the various training cycles to insure continual adaptation.

Steering Principle - Adjustments in training & competition based on the difference between the planned training & competition results and the actual achieved training & competition results. According to Olbrect ”Every loop provides feedback, which is used to plan the next cycle in order to fit in the training process with the individual trainability and so improve the training efficiency and return.”

Continual Adaptation

 

The concept of continual adaptation is something I have been working to get my arms around since we all met to plan the Michigan Women’s swim dryland program this past September. Jim Richardson, Women’s swim coach at Michigan got me thinking about this. Continual adaptation is not continual improvement. Continual adaptation is a viable concept because different physical qualities adapt at different rates. By taking advantage of and manipulating the differing adaptation times it is possible to achieve continual adaptation. It is not liner it is an ever-ascending sinusoidal curve. Progress in performance is very step like. I liken it to a series of small plateaus with stairs in between the plateaus climbing to the desired peak performance in the peak competitive season. We must provide an optimal environment for continual adaptation by manipulating the training variables in a very systematic and sequential manner. Never lose sight of the fact that all systems of the body work at the same time very synergistically. Despite conventional wisdom that attempts to isolate systems of the body and then bring them back together at some magical time in the future. This is a process that is obviously coach driven. It demands careful monitoring of the key training parameters in the athletes program.

Training - It's More Than a Workout

Training is a cumulative process. The workout is one piece of a much bigger picture. Training is not one spectacular or particularly tough workout, rather it is a succession of workouts designed to fit into the overall plan in pursuit of specific training objectives. Anyone can make a workout hard, but the essential element is context. Where does it fit? One workout cannot stand alone. One great workout does not necessarily lead to a great competition result. In fact it can be detrimental. To achieve an outstanding workout the athlete may have to dig deep into physiological, psychological, and emotional reserves to achieve that result. That potentially may detract from competition performance. The concept that has stood the test of time for me is Bill Bowernan’s concept of hard easy rhythm of training days.  As the athlete progresses in their career and you can assess their adaptability you can progress to a hard day, followed by a medium day, followed by an easy day. Too many hard days without easy days to balance them out will result in failing adaptation. Ideally we want to achieve continual adaptation as a consequence of supercompensation. You achieve this by having clearly defined training goals, a sound plan to achieve those goals, a thorough knowledge of the athletes physical capabilities and specific competitive goals. Remember one workout cannot make an athlete, but one workout can break an athlete.

Preseason Practice – Where Championships Are Lost

Preseason, two or three times a day practice is almost here in American football, collegiate soccer and volleyball. Each of the past three years at close to the same I have posted on this. In my 40 years of coaching and my additional four years of enduring six years of two and sometimes three a day practices as a football player I am convinced that this is where more championship are lost than won, especially in today’s world where the athletes have supervised out of season training. Watch closely over the next month and count the athletes who are actually injured during this time, usually enough time missed to compromise their ability to play in the first couple of games or matches. Why the injuries – very simply from cumulative fatigue probably more neural than metabolic. This type of fatigue is pervasive, slowing of reactions and responsiveness to the ground means that a position or a play the athlete would be able make in a less fatigued state now the movement or play can’t be executed. Basically if you think about it logically the athletes workload has now been increased 50%. What’s wrong with that picture? No one in their right mind would think of going from two hours of training a day to four hours – yet that is what we are doing. Think! Think! Think! ( By the way the same thing happens in Baseball spring training, but the workload is increased more like 150%)

Then add testing to see if they are in shape or mentally tough. Another nail in the coffin! What happens if they aren’t in shape? Do you punish them and run them more to get them in shape? That is traditionally what has been done. The net effect of this is dead legs that probably come back to life in med October when half the season is over and all the injuries heal.

Then there is heat stress. When are we going to recognize that this may  be one of the biggest limiting factors in sport performance. Despite all the research and knowledge in this area, the translation to the field is still in the dark ages. Go watch an American football practice and you will see what I mean. They still have “water “breaks” where all the players run over and gather around the trough like a bunch of sheep. Why not give each player an individual bottle with a properly formulated sports drink and educate the player that they must drink four bottles during a practice. This should be carefully monitored and enforced.

I know that many teams have now gone to taking every third practice off. That may be a step in the right direction but there is so much more that can be done. How are monitoring each layers training load? Some don’t need the break, other do. Isn’t the goal to get the whole team ready for the start of the season with each player in an optimal state of readiness to start the season? Unfortunately this phase takes on the look of death march with the goal survival. I think we need to reframe the whole approach to this phase. Make these teaching camps. This is the last phase of preparation for competition, all training should have progressively built to this point. This is a time to be sport and position specific, to emphasize high quality and intense work. It is time of fine tuning.

More on Training Rhythm

Jay Johnson wrote this question in response to my original Training Rhythm post: Are you ever putting days back to back that are both challenging, but metabolically or neuromuscularly different? Yes to a certain extent, but not on a consistent basis. I also think that when you do this that the third day must be a real recovery day. For me it really depends on the training block we are in at the time. If we are in a foundation phase with lower intensity and no scheduled competitions I will sometime go six days of alternating a metabolic stress with a neural stress, followed by a recovery day. Seldom will put two of these microcycles back to back. Some of this is training age dependent. I have found that the higher level athletes with a greater training age operate closer to their max; they know how to push themselves. The younger developing athlete tends to undershoot and operate at a lower stress level until they learn how to train. The implication of this is that with the developing athlete I tend to go hard one day, then medium the next, followed by an easy day.

Rob Sleamaker commented on external means of recovery. That is warranted, the extent of it is dependent on the training age of the athlete. All the training theory literature that I have read over the years stresses the pedagogical design of the training program first. I think that at the elite levels we have been become over dependent on external means of recovery and therapies to cover up for poor training design. I think we need to understand how to stress the body and allow its natural adaptive reserves to operate at various times in the training year. Too much external means of recovery interferes with the athlete’s ability to read their body. Proper timing of recovery methods is just as important and proper timing of training stimuli.

Recovery

Someone asked me to comment with my thoughts on recovery. In the training process it is during recovery when the training adaptation occurs. There is a unity of work and rest, essentially a yin and yang. It is impossible to talk about training without considering recovery both intra training session and inter session. Inadequate recovery will not allow the training adaptation to occur and this eventually leads to injury or overtraining. In my opinion there has been way to much focus on external means of recovery and not enough on proper planning and training design. I heard one coach of elite athletes in track & field say that he needed one hour of therapy for every two hours of training. That is ridiculous, if you need that much work on recovery, then something is serious wrong with the training! Certainly external means of recovery are necessary and viable if used correctly and timed properly within the training cycles. I think to understand recovery you need to understand the concept of stimulus threshold. Stimulus threshold is the optimum workload necessary to elicit an adaptive response to the particular physical quality you are training. Not maximum but optimum. Then you need to consider the interaction of all the components in training and recognize that there are different times to adaptation for different physical qualities. Once you have done this then you plan the recovery so that the various curves of adaptation will coincide at the desired time. Plan the work, work the plan and remember that after the work the rest is easy.